oldfarthenry:Millennium: What is it about Smart cars that inspires so much hatred, anyway?

'merikuns think of their cars like bald men thinks of their toupees - an extension to their masculinity (or lack thereof).

SUVs get a lot of hate over here too, though; in some ways these seem to be equal and opposite reactions to the general idea of cars not fitting some aesthetic that, for whatever reason, holds particular appeal. Then again, I drive an old-style Scion xB and love how it looks.

Full disclosure: my wife a Smart, and she loves it. I confess that the first few times I drove it, I actually thought I had left the parking brake on; that takes some getting used to it. But I like it; the only reason I wouldn't consider one for my next car is that we actually do need a vehicle that can hold more than two people.

Millennium:What is it about Smart cars that inspires so much hatred, anyway?

I don't think it is hatred so much as unfamiliarity. I would never buy one because it doesn't suit my needs but we have the Cars2Go here which is essentially a bunch of smart cars laying around that you can take around town and leave wherever you want for the next person. We take them if we know we are going to be drinking and don't want to have to go get our car the next day. Smart car downtown, cab home. But they are silly looking they were partially designed by Swatch for crying out loud.

There is one of these in my hometown. The owner, a 60-something hippie with one of those grey pony tails, drives it . . . the license plate reads "FUTURE," and he paid to have one of the advertising wrap jobs, so the entire car is covered with anti-oil, pro-electric propaganda.

If that is your thing, then great . . . go for it, but this guy, I want to slap the smug right out of him.

clear_prop:jaybeezey: Millennium: What is it about Smart cars that inspires so much hatred, anyway?

For me it's their poor price to performance ratio. You can get a lot more car for the money with a Chevy Spark or Ford Fiesta.

For the size of the car, it gets really bad mileage. The Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and a bunch of other cars in that class get about the same mileage and can hold four people and some stuff.

The only thing Smart cars do well is park in tight spaces, and that really isn't an issue in the US the way it is in Europe.

US safety and emissions requirements knock a huge chunk off the European model's efficiency. So one's paying a premium price for a small passsenger cabin that isn't substantially more efficient than many larger vehicles.

I think they're great, energy-wise. I wouldn't drive one, though, and not for the silliness factor. I'd be terrified of the thing just flipping over when cornering, and in the event of an accident, the crumple zone is you.

Babboonrash:I'm discouraged to hear that. For my job I drive the hated "big truck"... but was considering this little thing for weekend driving. Not practicle with a family though.

It's a cute car, but there's just no reason to buy one in the US. Parking isn't usually the issue it is in Europe, and for the price there's a bunch of vehicles with more room, more power, and are no less efficient, all while having a much larger dealer network. I could maybe see one if you lived in a massive city, but there just doesn't seem to be any point to them out here in the suburbs. I don't have any particular hate for any vehicle, I just don't understand what makes somebody think that the Smart car is a better pick than a Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, Chevy Sonic, Mazda 2, Nissan Versa, or anything else like that.

natazha:Saw a Smart car the other day with a windup key, like they used to put on VW Bugs. My wife is too young to remember the original Bug, but we both LOL.

The only person I know that had a Smart car got rid of it because it couldn't accelerate on left turns.

I would be hesitant to drive one, because (by the look of them anyway) there must be zero survivability in a crash vs anything bigger than a bug. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but to me it would feel like driving a coke can.

jaybeezey:Millennium: What is it about Smart cars that inspires so much hatred, anyway?

For me it's their poor price to performance ratio. You can get a lot more car for the money with a Chevy Spark or Ford Fiesta.

Yeah, it actually isn't an outstanding fuel efficiency. It's 36 mpg, which is "good", but there are some small sedans with that or better. Heck a Geo Metro gets better than that. But you're paying a LOT more to get this toy car with less actual utility, which leaves questions about the buyer's motivation. Idiotic "smug" is a possibility, to be able to say "I spent a LOT of money on a small car so I'm saving the planet somehow".

The deletion of the cab and trunk actually costs fuel efficiency on the highway. Most people see the need for smooth aerodynamics in front to "cut through the air", but the back is also important. A teardrop shape prevents the formation of a low-pressure "bubble" that drags on the back of the object. The Smart basically has the aerodynamics of a brick in this regard. if it were a sedan, the second row of seats and trunk will improve aerodynamics. And you'll actually be able to USE it to carry things, and people. Low capabilities don't save the planet- if you have to make two trips or switch to the SUV because this crazy thing came up where you need to put THREE people in a car, then that's a loss.

Millennium:What is it about Smart cars that inspires so much hatred, anyway?

The ForTwo gets 34 city 38 highway, has no cargo space and wouldn't fit two larger persons. Additionally, it costs about $15k new. My 2012 Kia Rio gets 32 city, 40 highway, and I can fit four adults in it, and it costed me about $15k, new. The Yaris, Fit, Sonic, Soul, Rio, Accent, Versa, xA, xD, MiniCooper, and Fiesta are all superior, and almost all the same price (or cheaper.) That's my take on it. They're like Apple, except unlike Apple they don't deliver on the promise of an (arguably) superior product. You pay a premium for an underacheiver.